



Maher Commercial Realty is pleased to present 1352 N Santa Fe Avenue, Vista, CA — a combined business and real estate offering that conveys both the established Fountain Car Wash operation and the underlying ±34,232-square-foot (±0.79-acre) site, comprising two contiguous parcels (APN 161-251-04-00 and APN 161-251-25-00), in the heart of North County San Diego. The buyer acquires a turnkey, cash-flowing enterprise — seven coin- and credit card-operated self-service wash bays plus one with an existing Mark VII car wash rollover (non operation installed in 1993), twelve independent vacuum stalls, dual covered canopies, and an on-site, completely owned 26-panel solar array that transfers with the sale — together with fee-simple ownership of the real estate beneath it. An on-site automotive detailing tenant provides a second, stable income stream.
The long-term story is the land. Based on current City of Vista planning materials, the site appears to fall within Vista's Mixed-Use / North Santa Fe redevelopment framework, which may allow future residential or mixed-use development at up to approximately 40 dwelling units per acre, with potential density-bonus upside. In other words, an owner can keep operating the car wash and its detailing income today, while controlling a near-one-acre redevelopment assemblage on one of North County's priority growth corridors (see Zoning & Redevelopment Flexibility; buyer to verify zoning, overlay status, density, and entitlements with the City of Vista).
The site fronts N Santa Fe Avenue — Vista's primary north-south arterial — with a traffic count of roughly 22,000 vehicles per day and a dedicated left-hand turn lane allowing the property to benefit from traffic in both directions. It sits inside a fully matured trade area anchored by Target, Walmart, Home Depot, In-N-Out, Starbucks, and Northgate Market, and minutes from SR-78 (0.6 mi) and I-5 (3 mi). At the $3,200,000 list price, the offering is priced at approximately $93 per square foot of land — a compelling basis for a near-one-acre, mixed-use redevelopment assemblage in one of Southern California's strongest growth corridors.
In place, the property produces approximately $301,600 in gross revenue and $253,184 of net operating income with minimal labor and limited day-to-day management. Future ownership can grow that income through equipment upgrades, in-bay automatic conversions, expanded vacuums and ancillary revenue, and membership programs, or pursue the site's most compelling long-term path: redevelopment into a multifamily, mixed-use, or workforce-housing project under Vista's Mixed-Use framework. This is a true "cash flow plus land bank" investment: immediate, asset-backed yield today, with a clear path to significant redevelopment value tomorrow.
ABOUT THE PROPERTY
KEY POINTS
Combined business + real estate sale: established Fountain Car Wash operation conveyed with fee-simple ownership of the ±34,232 SF (±0.79-acre) two-parcel site
Eight total wash bays, twelve independent vacuum stalls, dual covered canopies, and a completely owned 26-panel solar array that transfers with the sale
Second income stream from an on-site automotive detailing tenant
Strong in-place cash flow: $253,184 NOI on $301,600 gross revenue
Priced at approximately $93 per square foot of land — a low basis for near-one-acre mixed-use infill in coastal North County
Predominantly self-service, low-labor business model with minimal payroll exposure and limited management
Appears to fall within Vista's Mixed-Use / North Santa Fe redevelopment framework — permits commercial plus multifamily / mixed-use development (buyer to verify)
Redevelopment upside: up to ~40 units/acre base density (potentially more with State Density Bonus), up to 60 ft / 4 stories, 10-ft setbacks, 10% landscaping
Illustrative yield: ~31 base residential units on the ±0.79-acre assemblage, and potentially ~46 units with a density bonus
Direct corridor precedent: a comparable 0.53-acre N. Santa Fe parcel was approved in 2025 for a 33-unit, four-story mixed-use building
±22,000 vehicles per day of frontage on N Santa Fe Ave, featuring a dedicated left-hand turn lane that benefits from traffic in both directions, with SR-78 (0.6 mi) and I-5 (3 mi) access
Strategic land-bank assemblage: immediate, asset-backed yield plus long-term redevelopment optionality


